Bihar's NDA taunts Grand Alliance over seat sharing

Choubey told the media here that the Grand Alliance is a coming together of "thugs".

Patna:  A day after the opposition Grand Alliance failed to reach an accord on seat sharing at a meeting in Delhi, Bihar's ruling NDA on Thursday taunted it, saying those who can't decide also cannot challenge. "They have failed to finalise seat sharing, how can they be a challenge to the NDA?" asked senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Ashawani Choubey. Choubey told the media here that the Grand Alliance is a coming together of "thugs". "Their aim is to remove Modi and our aim is to save the country. We want a strong government in the country and they want a helpless government after the polls." Choubey said the NDA will form the next government in the state and Narendra Modi will the Prime Minister again. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said: "The NDA announced its seat sharing two and a half months ago but the Grand Alliance is yet to decide. The NDA is much ahead and stronger than them." Janata Dal-United (JD-U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the Grand Alliance will finalise seat sharing only after getting clearance from jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad. Lok Janshakti Party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras said the NDA was sure to win all the 40 seats in Bihar. "Where is the challenge? The Grand Alliance is still discussing and we have decided everything long back," he added. As per the NDA's seat-sharing formula, the BJP and the JD-U will contest from 17 seats each, while the remaining six seats will be contested by the Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP. Meanwhile, RJD leader Alok Mehta said the Grand Alliance has worked out its seat sharing details and a formal announcement will be made in the next two to three days. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the RJD won only four seats and the Congress two. The JD-U, which contested separately, won two seats. The BJP-led NDA won 31 seats, with the former's tally being 22.